Mistletoe
by Ariana Malfoy- Lestrange
Summary: Harry pointed up above them. “Mistletoe,” he said quietly.“Remember?” he asked. Like she could ever forget. HC.


She woke up that morning with a feeling of gloom, even though it was only a couple days till Christmas Holiday.  
  
Sighing, she made herself get out of bed. So what if she had to spend her vacation at Hogwarts? So what if her parents had decided to go on an impromptu trip to St. Tropez?  
  
So what if she was going to be bored out of her mind?  
  
And it wasn't even like any of her friends were staying, either. No, it was only she, a couple of third years, and...Harry Potter. Well, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger were also staying, but they had stuck with Harry so long, they were practically a part of him.  
  
Cho didn't speak to Harry anymore. If anything, they avoided each other in the hallways, and at mealtimes, both feeling the tension and the electricity between them, and both, consequentially, trying to ignore it.  
  
They hadn't even said a word to each other after the Hogwarts Express last year. But then again, they really didn't need to. In each other's silences, they heard the unspoken anger, the unsaid regret, the apologies not made, the tears not cried, the hugs not given, and most of all- the feelings not being acknowledged.  
  
Because yes, mixed in with all the bitterness, and heartache- there was still that feeling of well- love.  
  
And because they both felt it, they both tried to bury the feeling.  
  
But how can you bury love? How can you bury something you've felt constantly for a couple of years? Well, you really can't. It's rather hard, and impossible- you just can't.  
  
Cho went through her daily routine- breakfast, classes, lunch, classes, and then, something happened which completely threw off her usual routine.  
  
She doesn't ever, EVER, like her normal routine to be disrupted, but disrupted it was, and disrupted it would remain.  
  
The disruption in particular was perhaps a trivial one to some, but to Cho, it was inevitably a cataclysmic event.  
  
Upon going up to her room to put a couple of books away before dinner, she had found a letter on her pillow.  
  
It wasn't the actual letter that shocked Cho; it was the sender of the letter.  
  
Her face went white, and her hands were shaking when she picked up the small folded piece of parchment, hardly daring to open it. Taking a deep breath, she opened the letter, and read over it, her heart racing.  
  
After finishing it, she had to read it again, and a second, and third time, to really make sure she understood exactly what the letter was saying.  
  
Her shock turned to anger, and she was almost in a mind to rip up the offending document in question, but then something vaguely demonic, impulsive, and rather unlike the rational, logical Cho, took over, and possessed her to drop her things, and go to the Great Hall, letter in hand, and fury in soul.  
  
She didn't have to look very far for him. Coming down from the staircase, she could spot him in the swarm of students chattering, and making their way into the Great Hall.  
  
Pushing her way through the masses, she made her way over to him, seething.  
  
He was talking with Ron and Hermione- what else is new?  
  
"Ron, Hermione, could I talk with Harry alone for just a second?" She asked, trying hard not to scream it.  
  
Hermione took one look at Cho's face, and hastily pulled Ron away. "Of course you can...Ron and I will be in the Great Hall, Harry." She made a quick escape, dragging the confused Ron with her.  
  
Harry was obviously uncomfortable, but he didn't have to wait very long.  
  
"What is the meaning of this?" She asked furiously, holding up the letter.  
  
He looked at her in utter confusion. "What is the meaning of what?"  
  
Cho snorted. "Like you don't already know." She said sarcastically. "This letter. The one that you sent me."  
  
"I-" Harry began, but Cho cut him off.  
  
"Why would you even- I mean, I thought we both understood that we would never talk about it? We can't-" She sputtered, trying to find the right words.  
  
The whole hall was completely silent, but Cho didn't notice.  
  
"What are you talking about?" hissed Harry, annoyed at being cut off.  
  
She jabbed him in the chest with the letter, walking forward as she went. With each jab, she said a word. "I-"(jab) "am talking-"(jab) "about- "(jab) "this letter-"(jab) "that I received-"(jab) "today-"(jab) " talking about-"(jab) "how you-"(jab) "felt like there-"(jab) "was something-"(jab) "still there!" Cho was breathing heavily, and she did not look too pleased.  
  
"Why couldn't you just let it drop?" She whispered sadly. "Why couldn't you just forget about it, why did you have to bring back it all? How did you know that I felt the same?"  
  
If Harry hadn't been extremely confused, now he certainly was. "I didn't send that letter, Cho, I don't know who did, but I certainly did not."  
  
She was silent, feeling embarrassed and puzzled. "Oh." Cho said in a small voice.  
  
"Let me look at it." Harry took the letter and glanced over it. He shook his head. "It isn't even my handwriting."  
  
"Oh." She said again, feeling stupid. "Oh. I'm sorry, I should just- I mean, I didn't mean to...I should just go. Sorry to bother you, I thought..." Her cheeks were red, and her voice seemed choked. Turning away, she made to walk away, but Harry caught her by the shoulder.  
  
"Cho!"  
  
Cho turned, still looking down at the floor. "What?" She bit her lip.  
  
Harry pointed up above them. "Mistletoe." He said quietly.  
  
Her breath caught in her throat.  
  
"Remember?" he asked  
  
She nodded, unable to speak.  
  
Almost magnetically, their faces came closer. Only an inch or two closer, and their lips would be touching.  
  
"Merry Christmas, Cho." Harry said, with a small smile on his face.  
  
And then they kissed, in front of all of Hogwarts, in front of teachers, students, enemies, and friends.  
  
When they broke apart, both of their faces were pink, but Cho said, "Merry Christmas to you too, Harry."  
  
And she knew that this Christmas holiday would be a very interesting one indeed. 


End file.
